Hiking in Southern France

Planning the Trip

When we were invited to our friend’s wedding in Germany, the wheels started turning. The wedding was only a one-day affair, so we wanted to plan something for the week leading up to it. We had been itching for a long hike, but the question was where? We landed on France! The flights were reasonable and the high speed train system would allow us to get to where we needed to efficiently. It took us a long time and a lot of research to decide our route, but we stumbled upon Sentier Cathare aka the Cathar Way aka GR367. The full trail is 250km long, starts in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains, and ends on the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea (or vice versa). It seems that it is traditionally walked from the sea into the mountains, but we decided to hike the opposite direction and end at the sea.

We had two weeks and so we mapped out our itinerary:

• Fly into Paris and take a train to Perpignan in the South of France – stay 1 night in Perpignan
• Take a bus from Perpignan to Axat (for 1 Euro!) and leave our suitcases at the hotel since we only needed our backpacking gear
• Stay one night in Axat (about the middle of the complete trail) and begin the Cathar Way the next morning heading East towards Port-la-Nouvelle at the Mediterranean Sea
• Stay one night in Port-la-Nouvelle – Beach Day! Then take the train back down to Perpignan for another night
• The following day take the train from Perpignan to Amsterdam for 2 nights – we thought this would break up the trip a bit so our travel days weren’t so long
• Take the train from Amsterdam to Oldenburg for the wedding – stay one night.
• Take the train from Oldenburg to Hamburg for the final two nights!

Now this isn’t EXACTLY what ended up happening, but we stuck pretty close to the plan.

Flint to Perpignan

We started our journey in Flint, MI and I can’t think of a better airport to check in to an international flight. Never any lines, no complications. Easy! It was so easy, in fact, we had time to start our culinary journey with a couple of beers and double cheeseburgers at the Flint Airport café. We had a connection in Chicago and had a painless enough flight to the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. From the airport we hopped on a train, had a connection in Lyon, and finally made it to Perpignan!

After checking into our hotel in Perpignan – Hotel Mondial – we set out for food and drinks. We landed at Les Epiciers and got our first taste of France’s excellent meats, cheeses, breads, and wines – what would become staples of our diets for the remainder of our time in France. The meal was excellent and afterwards we roamed around the streets of Perpignan. We didn’t stay long – the next morning we packed our backpacking gear, left our bags with the hotel, and headed to the bus station! But not before stopping for some breads, cheese, and sausage for the journey.

Perpignan to Axat

We hopped on a bus in Perpignan headed for Axat. The bus fee was 1 Euro each – we were very proud of that purchase! In all, I think the bus ride was a little over an hour and stopped at little villages on its way into the foothills, last stop Quillan. The ride was actually really beautiful but I was white-knuckling it for most of the trip…the bus driver whipped through those tight mountain turns!

We arrived in Axat without an overnight reservation. The town was silent and the first couple of bed & breakfasts (chambre d’hotes) we tried were not yet open for the season. We ended up getting lucky at Echappee, a little bed & breakfast run by a very sweet couple. We got settled in and explored the town a bit. I found Axat very charming, a beautiful mountain village with a big stream running right through the middle with lots of old houses and winding streets. After wandering around, we dined at the only open restaurant in town – it had a small local bar vibe. I ordered cassoulet and Alex ordered a cheese and meat plate accompanied by vin rouge, of course. We had an early night in preparation for the start of our hike the next day!

Hiking the Cathar Way

Day 1 – Axat to Caudiès-de-Fenouillèdes (21.75km/13.5mi)

We woke up early and started our day by stopping at our three favorite stores: la boulangerie, la boucherie, and la fromagerie. The baguettes, sausages, and cheeses were absolutely unreal and was the best trail food we ever had. Once we were stocked up for lunch, we made our way out of town by following what I came to call “the trusty red & whites.” The entire trail was surprisingly well-marked by two horizontal painted lines – one red, one white.

The trail is GR367, also known as the Cathar Way (Sentier Cathare). The Cathars were a group of people who lived in these foothills a long time ago and I believe were wiped out by the Christians during the Crusades…or at least something like that. This hiking trail is peppered with the ruins of the Cathar castles perched high on peaks. While we saw several of them, we only stopped at one on the first day of our hike – I think mainly because we were too exhausted to consider climbing up any of the others.

The fist day of the hike really blew me away. We had expansive views of valleys from the top of the castle, views of little towns tucked into the hills and cliffs, and walked through tiny little villages with not a soul in sight. We also stumbled upon several herds of free range cows with bells on their necks – something I thought only existed in movies. I was fascinated!

The day ended as we walked out of the mountains and into a valley of vineyards – we arrived at Caudiès-de-Fenouillèdes. We walked around town for a bit looking for a place to stay, but again, most of the bed & breakfasts were not yet open for the season. We were pointed to a converted winery at the end of town. When we asked for a room there, they almost weren’t able to accommodate us because of a motorcycle group they had arriving that night! But somehow they managed in the end. The owner was so so so French looking and he proudly wore a communist pin on the front of his beret. This place has since been referred to as “the Commie Winery.”

We ended the night with a few beers and dinner at a local bar/restaurant – it was clear from all of the stares that they were surprised to have visitors at all, let alone American ones!

Day 2 – Caudiès-de-Fenouillèdes to Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet (13.5km/8.4mi)

The second day was another beautiful trek through vineyards, rocky cliffs, and shaded woods. We met some mules along the way and wandered through more quiet mountain villages. I remember seeing our next destination, Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet, from a distance and getting excited that we ere close but it seemed to take forever to get there. The path was winding and the village was surrounded by mountains and vineyards. The town was nestled right in there.

We were hot and exhausted from walking in the open sun by the time we got to town, so we stopped at the first open café we came across and ordered our go to refreshment – Coca Sans Sucre. We found a campground within walking distance and claimed a spot. This was our first night camping on the trail. It was a strange little campground run by an older couple – the man was very friendly…the woman not so much. Alex referred to her as the “Nazi Dragon” stomping around and enforcing all of the campground rules, e.g. ripping down our clothes line while we were in the office paying.

We explored town a bit and had a couple of Pelforth beers in a really pretty courtyard. This night we decided to have a bit of a fancy dinner at a French restaurant close by. Unfortunately there aren’t any photos because our phones were dying, but the meal was fantastic. We chose the “Discovery Menu” which was a 4-course meal chosen by the chef – each course was a surprise! We had gazpacho, an artichoke/poached egg appetizer, beef for the main course, and some really nice desserts. Alex ordered a nice bottle of wine to share and I somehow managed to get VERY tipsy (I think we also had some sort of apertif?). I realized my level of inebriation when I returned from the bathroom and I almost fell over try to tug on Alex’s ear. I managed to hold it together long enough to pay, walk home, and crash in the tent!

Day 3 – Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet to Cucugnan (23.5km/14.6mi)

Today’s trek was full of more peaks, valleys, vineyards, and cows. It was also an especially HOT day with very little shade along the way. We enjoyed more beautiful views, I took way too many pictures and videos of cows, and we had a very memorable lunch under the shade of a tree in a beautiful meadow. Our destination village, Cucugnan, came into view as a small cluster of buildings built onto a hill with a picturesque windmill at the top.

As we entered Cucugnan, which may have been the most “touristy” town along the way, we decided to move beyond it to a little campground among some olive trees. We called it the “Hippy Commune” – there were children running around, a well lived-in camper of the campsite host, and a large family gathering for dinner in the open-air kitchen.

We walked back into town for dinner that night and I remember being especially exhausted. The long miles, hot sun, and generally being out-of-shape was catching up to me. After dinner we stopped at the local grocery store and grabbed the fixings for breakfast and lunch for the next day so we could get up and get going first thing in the morning.

In a regrettable state of apathy, we stored that bag of food (bread, sausage, cheese, etc.) inside and at the foot of our tent. In the middle of the night, a fox managed to tear a hole in our tent and sink his teeth into our loaf of bread in an attempt to yank it away! I woke up in a state of terror thinking someone had come to murder us and Alex smacked the little bastard away. We managed to rescue our food, but our tent was not spared from 2 massive tears. Lesson learned the hard way!

Day 4 – Cucugnan to Tuchan (18km/11.2mi)

The next morning we started our trek with a steep hike up. I remember I couldn’t stop looking back during the ascent – the view of the valley, vineyards, and Cucugnan was really striking. The climb leveled out at the base of another castle and we took advantage of the ticket office’s little coffee vending machine and picnic table for a rest. A couple of café o laits and snacks perked us right up. Not quite enough to make another climb to a castle – onward to Tuchan!

Today’s hike was another mostly uncovered trek and the cloudless sky made some of the stretches a challenge. As we entered Tuchan, we were both exhausted. With a hole in our tent, we were hoping to find a hotel or B&B but were not having much luck! The first door we knocked on, a woman in her swimsuit answered. “Ferme!” she yelled as she pointed us to a lady down the street and around the corner. That lady answered but was also closed – she pointed us up the street to *the only* open local restaurant.

When we entered the restaurant and asked for a room (Alex asked in his broken French), things were not looking good. The tourist season hadn’t started yet and these places were not prepared for overnight guests! The owner must have seen the desperate pleading in my eyes. He told us to sit tight for 30min and they would make us a room. We were happy to oblige while we gulped down a couple of cold beers.

The owner called his wife and she came from down the street just to make up a room for us! The entire second floor was small rooms that I am sure are filled in the summer, but we had it all to ourselves. While we didn’t have many (any) other dining choices in Tuchan, we were super happy to stay at the restaurant for a couple of beers and homemade pizza.

Day 5/6 – Tuchan & Port-la-Nouvelle

The further we hiked away from Axat, the hotter it got with less tree coverage. We started in the mountains with some dense foliage and jackets on. By the time we got to Tuchan, it was all open rockfaces and vineyards with low shrubs. If we continued to the end, it would have been two 27.5km days of hiking in the full heat. At this point, we felt that we had gotten what we wanted out of the trek and decided to end it at Tuchan and take a bus out of town the next morning. Alex said there must be a bus in and out of Tuchan every day…

Surprise! A bus only comes to Tuchan 3 times a week and the following day was not one of them. No harm done, we spent a day wandering around the little town. We visited the local bakery (the baker girl loved Alex), a fruit/veggie stand in the square, and generally just enjoyed a relaxing day off.

After our day of rest, we hopped on the bus and made our way to Port-la-Nouvelle with a *very* brief stop in Narbonne on the way where we caught our train. Port la Nouvelle was a sweet little beach town and my first experience at the Mediterranean Sea. We reserved a room with a view of the sea at Hôtel Méditerranée – simply beautiful.

We took a quick dip and did what we do best – wandered around town and ate some good food. Again, it was clear that we were ahead of the season. Many places were closed and several things were in the process of being set up, e.g. a merry-go-round, outdoor seating, beach structures. It was interesting to see the very beginnings of what I am sure is a nonstop busy summer in a French tourist beach town. Port-la-Nouvelle was a lovely end to a beautiful hike and overall adventure!